I woke up around 5am and was freezing.  I couldn’t feel my legs and my arms were pretty numb.  My feet were effectively on top of snow, because the bedding we put down wasn’t under me.  I was ready to go.  Mark woke up around the same time, and we decided to go to the jeep; it had heat.  We wandered up the road to the visitor center where we’d parked.  He was carrying a pillow and I had a water bottle.  We joked about extreme camping.  The visitor center was closed, and wouldn’t open for a few hours.  We walked out by the lake, and it was amazing.  It was the bluest I’d ever seen a lake.  It really was amazing.  It was definitely worth risking hypothermia for.

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We ran the jeep engine and fell asleep.  The heat was on full, and we had the satellite radio on.  We woke up a few hours later and it was about 100 degrees in there.  We wandered out to the visitor center and got some breakfast.  We got bread bowls of clam chowder and some coffee.  It really hit the spot.  We hung out there for a bit and went to get Whit and Danielle.  We picked them up and they got some breakfast.  We decided to pack up the tent, and not camp for a second night.

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Tags: College,Crater Lake,Drinking,Eugene,Food,Football,Oregon
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We continued up the Pacific Coast Highway and drove into Oregon.  We decided to split up with 4 of us going to Crater Lake and Ethan and Larissa taking the Pacific Coast Highway.  They wanted to do that trip, and we wanted to go camping, so we drove to a Walmart, where I had an interview with a manager over the phone, and we bought some supplies.  We didn’t check the weather at Crater Lake, so we were a little stupid on that part.  We dropped the jeep and headed out, all of us would meet up in Portland in 2 days.  (The call with a potential manager didn’t go too well, they were looking for a business analyst, and I want to be an engineer, so we decided it wouldn’t work out)

The drive to Crater Lake took about 2 hours.  It was through some back country parts of Oregon, but also on a few main highways.  We got food at a diner which was hick to say the least.  It was right in the middle of nowhere, and the people there were interesting characters.  Everything moved a little slower.  We discussed our plan there for camping, and figured out what supplies we had.  We thought we were prepared.  We weren’t.

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Tags: Camping,Crater Lake,Hiking,National Park
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We went to the beach in San Francisco.  Larissa knew of a beach out here, which was supposed to be really nice.  It was a bit of a trip, but was a nice town along the water.  We got to the beach, but it was freezing.  The wind had picked up and the sun was hidden behind the clouds.  Four of us decided to get food and gave up on the beach.  We went back to the main strip and saw a bunch of seafood restaurants but they were pretty expensive.  We settled on a place next to (and connected to) the beach’s snack bar.  The food was good; I got fish and chips and had some clam chowder.  We saw Ethan and Larissa heading away from the beach so they came and joined us.  Nobody went in the water; all the locals had wetsuits on.  Oh well…

We drove up the Pacific Coast Highway.  It is pretty nice out, and the scenery is beautiful.  However eventually you just have seen enough of the coast.  It is all the same up here.  Trees & Cliffs.  We can’t really tell one place from another.  I wouldn’t recommend this stretch of the road.  Along the sides there are roadside attractions everywhere.  Most of them look like they hadn’t been visited in about 30 years, and we weren’t going to stop.

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Tags: California,Crystal Meth,Eureka,Pacific Coast Highway,San Francisco
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We woke up and Ethan and Larissa wanted to get to San Francisco as soon as possible.  Our RV Park was across the bay, so they took a ferry in.  The rest of us decided to hang out for a bit then head in a bit later.  We drove the jeep because even after a day of parking, it would be cheaper than the 14 dollars each to take the ferry there and back.  We parked near the waterfront by Pier 39.  Whit and Danielle wanted to go to the aquarium, Mark and I decided to watch the sea lions for a bit, they’re pretty awesome animals.  I saw a boat that looked like it did charters, so I inquired as people were disembarking and met the first mate.  His name was Gangus, and he was really awkward; I think he was the first mate.  The boat ride was 30 dollars, and took us out and under the Golden Gate Bridge, so I convinced Mark to come along, and we bought tickets.  We ran into Whit and Danielle before we left, but they weren’t interested in going.

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When we arrived in San Francisco, we hung out at the RV Park for a bit.  Everyone showered up and a few people went for a swim.  I spoke with my cousin about things to do in San Fran, since she lives here and grew up in Berkley.  She told me the Sex Worker Film Festival is going on, and it’s a pretty ‘Only in San Fran’ kind of thing and that I should check it out.  When I came to visit when I was 14, I had the best Chinese food ever, in a small restaurant where we didn’t order food, we just told them how hungry we were, and how spicy we liked our food; I asked Cindy what the name of that place was, and if it was still around.  She told me it was the House of Nan King, and gave me the address; she reminded me not to order food, that’s just what tourists do, and it’s not as good as when you just let them decide what to make.

I told the group about my discussion with my cousin, and we decided to follow her recommendations.  We went to the House of Nan King, and they brought us a bunch of food, everyone was really happy about the food, and the service was great, as soon as we finished one entree, another came out.  If I lived around there, I’d certainly be a regular.  The price was definitely right…  After eating, we wandered around Chinatown for a bit and looked in at the shops.  I got a call from my brother saying we might be getting a sailboat from my uncle, so that made my day.

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Tags: California,Chinese Food,Film Festival,Prostitutes,San Francisco
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